BELURAN: The Yang di-Pertuan Agong expressed concern over the government’s efforts to improve the road network in Sabah which is a catalyst for socio-economic and industrial development as well as improving the comfort and safety of road users in particular.
Their Majesties have been swarmed by people complaining about the conditions of the roads during their current “Borneo Kembara Tour”.
They uploaded in social media Their Majesties taking down notes on their grievances, including water shortages as well.
Some of the roads in Sabah are managed by five selected concessionaires going back to 1990s who receive hundreds of millions of ringgit yearly under much-criticised 20-year contracts, often with no account of how the money was spent.
Often, there are disputes over whether potholes in an area come under the jurisdiction of Federal, Sabah JKR, local authorities or the concessionaires.
The site visit is part of the Royal’s Kembara Kenali Borneo Programme which starts from Tawau and will end in Telok Melano in Sarawak.
Meanwhile, three of the first 15 packages of Sabah’s Pan Borneo Highway project have been completed.
Public Works Federal Minister, Datuk Sri Alexander Nanta Linggi, said another 13 packages are being implemented.
“We hope this construction work will continue to run smoothly and be completed according to schedule,” he said.
“We also hope that construction materials such as bitumen from Shell and Petronas will also always be sufficient and not be interrupted throughout the construction.”
Regarding the slight delay in the construction of all the Pan Borneo packages, he said it is related to the handover of Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) and hoped it would also go smoothly.
He added, in total, there are 35 Sabah Pan Borneo packages and they are expected to be completed by 2025.
He was speaking at a press conference during the visit of the Agong and Raja Permaisuri Agong at the Moynod-Sapi Nangoh Pan Borneo construction site, Tuesday.
The package in question, which is worth RM300 million with construction as far as 20km, is expected to be completed in October 2024.
Also present were Deputy Chief Minister III cum State Public Works Minister, Datuk Shahelmey Yahya, his assistant minister, Datuk Limus Juri and the Deputy Director of JKR Sabah, Pan Borneo Sector, Mohd Safri Abd. Habi.
During the site visit, His Majesty was pleased to hear from Nanta regarding the background and current status of the implementation of the Sabah Pan Borneo Project which is now 83 per cent completed for the 15 Phase 1A Work Packages.
